1112. Oh, Little Flower!

"Hey! Stop the scooter" yelled Kamesh.

"What for?" shouted back Muthu, even as he stopped the scooter. 

"Just a minute!" said Kamesh. He got down from the scooter, went near the compound wall of the nearby bungalow, raised his toes and peeped into the garden, situated behind the compound wall.

"What are you doing? If someone sees you, we will be in trouble" said Muhu, feeling unnerved by Kamesh's move.

Noticing Kamesh peeping into the house, the security guard standing at the gate rushed to the spot where Kamesh was standing and asked him, "Hey, what are you doing? Why are you peeping inside the house?" in a disturbed and tense voice.

"Oh, nothing. The flowers looked so beautiful, when I had a glance at them, while riding on the pillion of my friend's scooter, I just wanted to take a closer look at them" said Kamesh, nonchalantly.

"If the house-owner sees this, he will scold me. Get away from here!" said the guard, in a strict tone.

"Let us go. You are acting crazy. Have you not seen flowers before?" reprimanded Muthu.

"Meena! Hereafter, don't leave the town, even for a short period. If you are not in town, it is difficult for me to manage your lover" Muthu told Meenakshi, casting a reproachful look at Kamesh.

Kamesh just smiled, without saying anything.

"Why? What did your friend do?" asked Meenakshi, smiling at Kamesh.

"Before that, I want to ask you something. Why did your parents name you 'Meenakshi', meaning 'one with eyes resembling a fish?' To me, your eyes don't resemble fish!"

"You can belittle the appearance of my eyes later. Complete what you began to say about Kamesh" asked Meenakshi.

"In Tamil literature, poets compare the eyes of a young girl to the Kuvalai flower, called water lily in English. They describe God's eyes being similar to lotus flower. Your lover says that when he sees your eyes, he feels that they are like a pair of tiny flowers. When you are away, he craves to see you. If he sees a flower plant, he goes near it and keeps looking at the flowers, as if he is looking at you. I find it difficult to pull him away."

Meenakshi had a feeling of excitement, when she heard this. She looked at Kamesh, proudly. 

An incident that happened a few days back was replayed on the screen of her mind.

"Have you seen a flower, Meena?" asked Kamesh.

"Don't you think this is a silly question, even for your IQ level?" shot back Meenakshi.

"Then, tell me how a flower looks."

"Your question is like the one that appears in the Botany examination, asking us to draw a flower and mark its parts!"

"Ok, I will answer the question myself. At the centre of the flower, there is a small bud. The petals of the flower cover the bud, as if protecting the bud."

"My goodness! How boring can you get!"

Kamesh put his fingers around one of her eyes, stretched the muscles above and below the eye and said, "When I see how your eyelid is acting as a layer protecting the pupil, like the petals of a flower protecting the bud, your eye looks like a tiny flower."

"Get lost" said Meenalshi, in mock anger. She felt thrilled at Kamesh holding her eye with his fingers and comparing it to a flower.

"What is it, Meena? You are staring at your lover's face, without answering my question!" said Muthu.

Meenakshi turned to Muthu and told him, "Muthu! Now that you have mentioned a flower, I am reminded of puja*. There is a saying about a bear making an entry during the puja and disrupting it!" and giggled.

"Pardon me, Miss Jasmine Flower! It was wrong on my pat to be standing here, without letting the gardener nurture you with love and care. Hey, Gardner Kamesh! Take good care of the flower!"

Muthu left, bidding goodbye to both.

*puja - a ritual worshipping God, by offering flowers at the feet of the idol. 

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 112
In Praise of Her Charms

Verse 1112 (in Tamil):
malar kANin maiyAhthi nenjE ivaL kaN
palar kaNum pU okkum enRu.

Meaning:

Oh, my heart! Since her eyes resemble flowers that delight every one who looks at them, you mistakenly believe the flowers that resemble her eyes to be her eyes.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pUvellAm uRRup pAr' by the same author.)

 Verse 1113 (Soon)
Verse 1111